The Real Allie Newman

Rating:
Summary: Page Turning Suspense
Review: Allie Newman works in a Kingston, Ontario health food store with her stepmother and trains for a triathelon. When she rescues a drowning man and makes headlines, she comes to the attention of Private Investigator Joel Kennedy who is seeking the lost daughter of a Greek tycoon who desperately need a bone marrow transplant. Incontravertible evidence proves Allie is Spiro Kostakis' long lost granddaughter, and the old man greets her with open arms when Joel arrives with her at the Grosse Pointe mansion. The rest of the family views her arrival differently. Threatening notes, a near accident, and insinuations by family members make Allie wonder if anyone but Joel can be trusted. Her trust in him is shattered when he is forced to reveal the real reason for his presence.

Danger and suspense will keep the reader on her toes. Allie's attraction to Joel adds spark; Joel's struggle to distance himself from Allie adds tension. Joel seems less developed than Allie, who is brilliant, and the family members are a little over the top, but all makes for an exciting read. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Page Turning Suspense
Review: Allie Newman works in a Kingston, Ontario health food store with her stepmother and trains for a triathelon. When she rescues a drowning man and makes headlines, she comes to the attention of Private Investigator Joel Kennedy who is seeking the lost daughter of a Greek tycoon who desperately need a bone marrow transplant. Incontravertible evidence proves Allie is Spiro Kostakis' long lost granddaughter, and the old man greets her with open arms when Joel arrives with her at the Grosse Pointe mansion. The rest of the family views her arrival differently. Threatening notes, a near accident, and insinuations by family members make Allie wonder if anyone but Joel can be trusted. Her trust in him is shattered when he is forced to reveal the real reason for his presence.

Danger and suspense will keep the reader on her toes. Allie's attraction to Joel adds spark; Joel's struggle to distance himself from Allie adds tension. Joel seems less developed than Allie, who is brilliant, and the family members are a little over the top, but all makes for an exciting read. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: exhilarating romantic suspense
Review: In Kingston, Ontario, college math teacher Allie Newman bikes on a path in training for a triathlete event when she observes an elderly man and a dog fall into the Caturaqui River when the edge gives way. Allie rescues the blind man and his Seeing Eye dog leading to her appearance in People's magazine.

Private investigator Joel Kennedy arrives from Michigan claiming that her father, who died ten months ago, ran away with her when she was three. Her grandfather Spiro Kostakis saw the People picture that he claims is the spitting image of his deceased daughter. He wants to see Allie for several reasons, but especially because he suffers from leukemia and she is his last hope for a match for a needed bone marrow transplant. Joel shows a photo that matches one she owns so Allie agrees to meet her family. However, as Joel and Allie become better acquainted they fall in love, but with threats to her life she wonders whether she can trust him.

Fans of romantic suspense are in for a treat with THE REAL ALLIE NEWMAN, an exhilarating tale that runs at a pace that the heroine would want to achieve in a triathlon. The story line moves forward rather quickly, but takes enough time to insure that the reader fully appreciates the inane goodness of Allie and the internal conflict ripping Joel asunder. Though the Michigan cast never fully develops except for being creepy bad people that even a mother would question kinship let alone a long lost relative, readers will have a good time perusing Janice Carter' fine tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Troubling family relationships -- Recommended
Review: When her picture appears in a national magazine for an act of heroism, Allie Newman receives an unexpected visit from a private investigator. Her wealthy grandfather recognized the remarkable similarity of appearance of her photo to her mother, and sends Joel Kennedy to discover the truth. Allie believes that her mother ran away with another man when she was three. But Joel brings proof that it was not her mother ran away, but her father, taking her with him. Allie is not the first woman whose dreams he had shattered, or whose life he would change forever.

Allie's grandfather has been diagnosed leukemia, and hopes that Allie can provide bone marrow for a transplant. A woman who comes to rescue of those in need, Allie does not hesitate to offer blood for testing of compatibility. But her trusting nature also lands her in the lap of a family with their own agenda. Her cousins view with her suspicion, concerned that their grandfather might change the will in her favor. Others in the household drop innuendo and suspicion in her lap, forcing Allie to learn the truth regarding her mother. Even Joel seems to have his own agenda, one he does not openly reveal to Molly.

Issues of self-identity become a powerful theme in Janice Carter's THE REAL ALLIE NEWMAN. While other authors have addressed this theme, Carter maintains an unusually even hand, never allowing her mature heroine to sink into the self-pitying quagmire that many heroines experience when discovering that the story of parentage had been concealed. The book occurs during the course of a single week: a short period of time for such profound revelations. Nevertheless, Allie approaches the revelations regarding her father and mother with grace. She demonstrates profound maturity and remarkable self-assurance as she examines the ramifications of the discovery that her father has a past and she has a family of which she had no previous knowledge. Rather than being angry regarding the secrets of the past, Allie accepts the opportunity to meet her extended family and to learn about her mother, even if it is a rather unsavory view. Hero Joel is a bit tougher to grow close to, concealing his identity and struggling to maintain distance from Allie because of a conflict of interests. Nevertheless, he does provide an anchor when Allie feels cast adrift, and his role adds a dimension of intrigue that keeps the plot moving nicely along. An interesting afternoon's read, THE REAL ALLIE NEWMAN comes recommended.